Romans 4:18-21 - 18 In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” 19 Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; 20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.
Message: Faith continues; sustains
Time: The date of the book is
probably 60 A.D. written from Corinth on Paul's third missionary
journey. The church in Rome seems to be established and Romans does not
speak of any one error in the church that he is addressing. The church
had a large Jewish element, but also filled with Gentile converts from
paganism, both free as well as slaves.
What the Lord is Saying:
At the end of verse 17 it states that God gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist. Yesterday, I wasn't sure what that meant, but now reading these verses (19) it does show that what he was talking about is God giving life to something that, from all appearances, was dead.
Romans 4 continues to be re-delivering the message of the Old Testament, and specifically Abraham, the father of the Jews, but even more notably the father of us all. God made Abraham a promise and this promise was not momentary, but a blessing for all time for him to be the father of many nations. But, why is Abraham important? He is clearly important to the Jew, but why is he important to me? I think, he is one example, God used of a man who was declared righteous by his faith, not by works. So, Abraham is an example to me.
Verse 18 - Abraham had hope and believed in the impossible
The reading today begins "in hope against hope he believed." What Paul now shows and continues to show is that this act of crediting a person with righteousness and declaring a person alive is supremely an divine act. It is not human effort. Hope is complete assurance of a future good. But, it is also clear that what Christ does seems impossible to man. And thus the reason for the word "believe" to continually be repeated. Romans has 20 references to the word believe. And that I think is the meaning of the phrase "in hope against hope." It is an oxymoron statement, but against all of the hope of believing, in hope Abraham believed. Hope is the desire for something to happen. Faith is the confidence that is will happen.
It was 25 years from the time Abraham received the promise that he would have a son and when he actually had a son. 25 years. I struggle waiting 25 minutes or even 25 days.
The rest of verse 18 is a repeat of the fact that Abraham held tightly to the promise God had given him, that he would be the father of many nations. Abraham's offspring would be a result for future generations.
Verse 19 - Despite what he saw and knew, Abraham did not become weak in faith
Abraham did not get weak in his faith. 25 years of waiting and Abraham did not become weak in faith. I have teenagers in the house who are often not in the house, but off, doing things. Life is changing. The kids are no longer in the house, by our side, in the other room playing why I am in one room, outside in the neighborhood, with us. More and more there time is spent not near us. Pamela and I have longed for the day in the past of being alone and now we are and we wish we weren't. My wife and I are secure in our marriage, but we miss having our kids nearby. When they are near, I know what they are doing. As they leave, I don't know. And yet, I just want to know all is okay. The boys don't seem to have a problem communicating where they are at, but my daughter is a different story. She doesn't want to have to tell us, but just wants us to trust her. And it is hard. It is hard to not know. It's easy to her because she knows herself. We know her but she is also changing and we also remember what life was like at that age. Life is so fragile as well. It can be gone in an instant, and yet, our hope (desire) and faith (certainty) must be in the Lord.
Without becoming weak Abraham looked at himself and Sarah. Abraham was 100 years old. Sarah's womb was dead. And yet Abraham did not become weak in his faith. The evidence before him was not strong that anything would happen as far as fulfilling the promise God had given him. But, with Abraham, he did not become weak.
Verse 20 - Abraham's faith grew
In the face of all that Abraham saw in himself, he not only did not get weak in his faith, but his faith grew? I can't help but put a question mark after the statement that this faith grew. What in the world? His faith grew? The evidence showed him that nothing would happen, but for Abraham, his faith grew? It grew because of 1 thing: He believed. He believed God.
Right now, with teenagers, will my faith grow? Will my thirst for knowing where they are at cause me to shrink in faith or will my faith remain or will my faith grow?
And growing faith means we glory in God. I always go back and remember Romans 1:21 that "even though they knew God, they did not honor God or give thanks." The first thing that happens when we begin to flee God is not giving thanks. Knowing God is honoring God and thanking Him, giving glory to God. Glory gives a proper opinion of who God is. To glorify God is to state with my life that God is real. That God is complete and can handle anything. And that understanding can cause my faith to grow because I then don't doubt.
Verse 21 - Abraham's definition of faith
Why don't I doubt? Because I am fully convinced in God and what He will do. This is a more complete definition of faith: "being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform." Abraham is not saying that he knew how God would perform his promises. Old in age, as he prayed, he was confident in God, but that didn't mean he understood how God will do something. I don't need to understand completely, my faith tells me that God will do it. He is able.
Promise: Faith doesn't mean that we know all the answers, but faith does mean that God knows all the answers.
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